Beat the System
by ThexDarkenedXLight
Summary: The countries are forced into a game, a game where teams are automatically assigned to you, whether you like it or not. Your title as a country has temporarily been stripped from you as you play the game. As they play along, they notice that something is off...and wrong. In order to survive, can they beat the system?
1. Tutorial Level

A/N: Welcome to the **Game of Shadow**. This is a game where your favourite coutries have been transported to complete a given mission! Enjoy! Also, feel free to review and give feed back. Feed back gives me an idea of how I can improve and what the opinions of all you awesome readers are. (This is the prologue. The really story begins in the next chapter. As you should ALL know, I do not own Hetalia.)

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**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Begin!**

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I groaned, feeling a rapid pulse throbbing in my skull. Blurry was my vision, though it seemed like nothing interesting surrounded me. Just…grey. Everything looked grey, but not like a dark grey: grey like a cloud floating through the crystal sky. Blinking a few times, I sat up. The room around me appeared to be empty, and coloured plainly, a simple, cloudy grey. I felt a confused expression creep onto my face, following my thoughts. Where I was seemed to be a mystery, a mystery worth solving. I slowly switched to a standing position. The pulse in my head began to subside as I ignored it. My eyes shifted, observing the plain room. Behind me, and slightly to the left, a perfectly untouched AK47 rested against the wall in a back corner. I tried to walk, telling my brain to move my foot from its standing position. Nothing, it wouldn't budge. I felt my brows furrow in slight frustration as I made another attempt. Again, no movement.

**To walk, press the control stick forward.**

I blinked.

"Excuse me?"

**To walk, press the control stick forward.**

"Oh goody… 'Can I walk?'" I grumbled at the "voice".

I managed to take one step forward before sarcastically shouting: "IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE~!"

Unfortunately, I never actually figured out exactly how I managed to amble to the gun. I reached over, attempting to pick it up; however, no matter how many times I tried to grasp it, I could never get my fingers around the gun. I grumbled in frustration.

_WHAT KIND OF HERO CAN'T USE HIS WEAPON?_

**To pick up items, press the "A" button.**

"What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?" I yelled at the voice, growing angrier with each passing moment.

**To pick up items, press the "A" button.**

I rolled my eyes and clenched onto the gun, picking it up…'bout time too. Placing it on my strap, I continued to look around. As a door in the back corner began to open, a chiming sound echoed throughout the room. A confused expression spread on to my face like a virus. Proceeding to the door, I listened as the voice directed me out of the room. I glanced around the room, pushing my glasses farther up the bridge of my nose. The room looked very familiar…exactly the same as the previous room. My expression changed again. I thought I would flip if another room would appear to be the exact same as this one. Taking a few steps further into the room, I heard the door slide shut behind me. I turned back, watching as a lock formed on the knob. A groan escaped my lips. This was going to be "loads" of fun, I could tell. Suddenly, my train of thought crashed as the voice spoke once again.

**To open boxes and crates, press the "A" button.**

I snapped my head back and forth, searching for the object mentioned. Neither boxes, nor crates rested in my line of sight. My level of frustration began to increase once again as my brows furrowed.

"What box?" I shouted, annoyance echoing in my voice. Stating that the voice was starting to piss me off was an utter lie.

**To open boxes and crates, press the "A" button.**

I growled aloud in frustration, letting it begin to cloud my actions and thoughts. But, after a second, I paused. Something in the back of my mind told me: _"Look behind you."_

_Odd… the voice sounded audible too… and I recognize it… Almost as if I know it from somewhere…_

_"Just look behind you, you bloody American!"_

"Okay, okay! Geesh!" I said, throwing my hands up in defeat. I slowly glanced over my shoulder, eventually making the 180 degree turn. Sure enough, a cloudy looking, grey box sat behind me. Kneeling down, I opened said box. I pulled out the pack, containing bullets and food, from inside the box and threw it over my shoulder. The sound of sliding metal filled my ears, how faint it sounded. I glanced over my shoulder, noticing the opened door behind me. Once again, I stood up and exited the room, praying the next wouldn't be the same. Unfortunately, the room appeared to be identical to the previous rooms (minus the gun and box that is). I looked behind me, watching the door lock up once again. I rolled my eyes for the up-teenth time, mentally asking what would happen next. Seriously, it was getting really annoying, really quickly.

I blinked. Wasn't the voice supposed to speak about now? Instead of what I'd expected, silence filled the room. I looked around, even behind me, to observe the room. Nothing, just grey. I made a face, not liking the idea of being stuck in a plain old room with nothing in it. What did they want, me to go insane while being locked up or something? Just after I thought that, that voice hijacked my train again.

_"Be careful, Alfred..!"_

At that moment, I snapped back hastily, fear beginning to well up inside of me.

"How the hell do you know my name?"

_"Save that for later…"_

"I want an answer NOW!" I yelled impatiently.

_"No time for that now! You need to focus!"_

"I am focused – focused on you answering me correctly!"

After a few milliseconds, it responded.

_"ALFRED! BEHIND YOU!"_

I gasped, refocusing on my surroundings. From below me, my shadow began to grow out, beginning to take up actual shape and mass. A target, much like that of one used in archery, formed on its "chest".

**Use the "B" button to shoot the shadow-dummy.**

I rolled my eyes, grumbling under my breath. Removing my gun from the strap, I took aim at the target. With two shots, I nailed the target. The shadow dispersed with a flash, then vanished. Two more appeared, but this time, the shadows began to move around. Neither attacked me yet, but they tried to avoid my bullets. This time, when I shot them, coin-shaped objects fell to the ground.

**Sometimes, when you defeat an enemy, it will drop items.**

"THANK YOU, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS! I CLEARLY DID NOT SEE WHAT JUST HAPPENED!" I growled at the voice.

Another one formed in front of me. It lunged, aiming to attack me. With a quick gasp, I felt sharp, claw-like blades cut my side. I bared my teeth, feeling my ego flare up.

"No one attacks a HERO and lives to tell the tale!" I chastised it, taking a few shots at it. Instead of bullets, a small puff of smoke drifted from the gun. I stared at it, confused. Bullets still loaded the gun, so why didn't it fire?

**Use the "X" button to block your opponent's attacks.**

Almost instantly after the voice spoke, the shadow-dummy attacked me once again. Following orders, I blocked the swipe with my gun. After the figure rebounded, a few bullets penetrated the target. With another flash of light, the shadow dispersed. I padded over and picked up the coins that scattered all over the colorless floor. As I did, the voice spoke again:

**Use the manual in your bag for any further instruction.**

**From this moment on, the game has officially begun.**


	2. Level 1 - Part 1

**3...**

**2...**

**1...**

**START!  
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With a flash of light, I found myself in a new location…one that looked almost identical to the last. The hallway stretched out as far as I could see, white-ish grey like clouds, or freshly fallen snow. No doors stood within my field of vision. Step by step, I wandered down the plain corridor. It seemed endless, going on and on as I traveled down it. Suddenly, a change appeared in the wall. The hall split into a fork, veering to the right. I paused, debating on whether or not I wanted to turn right or not. Shrugging my shoulders, I just continued forward. If I needed to, I'd turn around and go in that direction. A little ways down the straight corridor, the uncanny voice in my head returned.

_"What are you doing, you twit?"_

"Huh…?"

_"You're going the wrong way, you idiot!"_

"What do you mean?!"

I was growing frustrated with this voice. Why did it know so much, calling me stupid like that?

_"Alfred… Go back, and turn into the corridor."_

I growled, which nearly turned into a bout of yelling, "Why should I listen to you? And why do you know my name? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

A long silence drifted in my head before the voice spoke again.

_"Alfred, I will bring out "The Box of Black-mail" if you don't do it…."_ The tone sounded very threatening. As it spoke, I suddenly realized that I had been talking to one of two people… but, how?!

After groaning, I listened to the voice. Ambling back in the direction I came from, I turned the corner and into the new hallway. It appeared to be identical to the hallway I just left. I continued to amble along, noticing that further up my view of vision sat the end of the hallway…a dead end; however, the audible voice told me enough for me to know that there could have been a box or a crate somewhere up the path. So, step after step, I traveled along the bland corridor. Tmp…tmp…tmp… bump….CRASH!

"Way to go…klutz…" I grumbled. Never noticing something standing directly in my path, I had obliviously tripped over…well...something. I pushed myself to my knees, recovering from the sudden fall. My eyes gazed behind me, searching for what I'd tripped over. A box, which looked like the previous one I'd seen, sat right where my feet wanted to be. Grumbling, I turned around to open the box. When I removed the lid, a sudden burst of bright light flashed. I groaned, clenching my eyes shut before peeking one open to see if the light had gone. I looked into the box. Nothing appeared to be inside, and I felt my expression match my thoughts.

"What the heck…?" I mumbled.

_"Alfred… check your equipment. I think something upgraded just now."_

Rolling my eyes, I searched my every item and pocket without arguing. I decided it would do me some good to just listen to the weirdo for once. Eventually, I noticed a cloud of dancing, glittery sparkles surrounding my gun. They appeared to be surrounding a dial I'd never seen before. In fact, I didn't think it was ever there before. Wondering what the dial could do, I turned it. The gun began to transform in my own hands, morphing into a innovative shape. In one moment, I held an AK-47, but after blinking, a Glock G36 was in my possession.

A grin formed on my lips. I gained the ability to use different guns in the matter of seconds…definitely a helpful tool in combat.

Switching to a standing position, I continued meandering down to a new corridor. Nothing changed, and the halls were still as plain as ever. I began to wander in a train of thought, eventually starting up a conversation with the weird voice in my head. I desired to find out just who he was, exactly.

"_You know… I'm surprised that it hasn't gotten through that thick skull of yours…_" it said, sounding just a smidge disappointed.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I whined. "I'm not stupid, you know!"

_"I know. You're just slow."_ it responded.

"HEY!"

A resemblance of a chuckle followed.

I pouted, "Meany… You remind me of a Brit I know..."

The voice returned in what sounded like a mumble: _"Gee… I wonder why, git."_

. . .

"Huh…?"

There was a sigh.

_"Nevermind…"_

I shrugged and returned my attention to where I was walking. Turning another corner, a blinking, scarlet light flashed on and off at the very end of the hall. Beside it rested a closed door. I raised a brow. Something new, huh? Almost instantly, my ears caught on to a faint beep, steadily sounding off every few seconds. At first, I wanted to ignore it, but then I realized the beeping belonged to something, most likely to whatever the light belonged to… most likely a bomb. Reaching for my gun, I turned the dial again, returning it to an AK-47. My gait slowed a bit, becoming more ginger as I advanced a bit more down the hall. I planned to shoot at the light, hoping that, if it was a bomb, it would explode before I was in range of the possible blast. Eventually, I stood fast, aiming at the light. With one breath, I fired.

Inhale….exhale….squeeze…. explosion.

I felt my pride bubbling up with a grin to follow while I returned my gun to its strap. With a bit of a strut, I walked closer to the door. Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud crash, startling me for a moment. After a moment, robotic-like figures charged through the door, their "eyes" moving back and forth as if scanning the hall for something. All of a sudden, they all stared blankly in my direction. It took me a second to process until I noticed them moving in my direction.

"Ah... shit!" I grumbled, pulling my gun out. After turning the dial, my gun changed into a hand-held machine gun. Once again, a smile grew on my lips, only this time, it was more of a sneer.

"RAPID FIRE!" I called out, ripping out a long stream of repeated bullets. Each one either hit a figure, or missed by a smidge. I chuckled to myself. This really WAS starting to seem like a video game. With another round, I took out most of the group, defeated ones fading away into a stream of data. A few of them left behind coin-shaped objects like from before. A flash of light zoomed past my head, nearly grazing my face.

"Woah!" I exclaimed in surprise. "Not cool, buddy!"

I aimed at its head and took my final shot. Fading away, this one left behind a silver key. I picked up each of the items, smirking the whole time.

"This level just got interesting…"

I continued down the hall and eventually through the door. It led into another hallway, appearing to be very similar. However, something struck me as odd. When I stepped in, I heard a jingling noise, kinda like a wind chime. I looked around until I noticed a river of blue/green lights dancing in a rising and fading circle. A moment passed before I realized – was that supposed to be like a saving point?

/"\

A/N: I know it has been forever! But, in order for me to have chappie 1 out sooner, I had to split it into two parts. I hope you still like it though! I know you all "love" to hear this, but seriously guys - Please consider reviewing. They give me motivation to upload future chapters and keep going. It also lets me know what you think of the story, what you think should be improved and what you all are interested in. So please! Reviews are good things~!  
On a different note, Level 1.2 is almost complete, but it may still be a little while longer until it makes it on here. Stay tuned to figure out what happens at the end of the level! Until then, ciao~!


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